Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)
St Mary’s College branch secretary Marion Myers receives a PPTA service award.
Feature image: Marion Myers (centre) with Girish Sajwan and Meg Davies
St Mary’s College (Wellington) branch stalwart and longstanding treasurer Marion Myers was the recipient of a 2019 PPTA service award.
Branch co-chairs Meg Davies and Girish Sajwan nominated Marion for her more than two decades in the role. Marion used her role as treasurer to lay a platform for a functioning branch by ensuring events were always well catered for by working with each new branch chair to help them understand their role and responsibilities.
Marion was a key figure behind ensuring branch members received the professional development they were entitled to, Meg and Girish said.
20 years of supporting branch chairs
“In the 20 years that Marion has been branch treasurer she has worked with numerous branch chairs. When they take on this role Marion always helps them understand not just the financial aspects of running a branch, but the roles and responsibilities as a whole. Without Marion’s institutional knowledge and willingness to help, the St Mary’s branch would not have enjoyed the continuity and stability it has,” they said.
Marion is a passionate union member who lends her “always gentle, yet well-reasoned” voice to discussions, the co-chairs said.
The branch is the heart of the PPTA
At a Wellington region function to recognise Marion’s achievement, regional treasurer Vernon Tile noted the St Mary’s branch accounts had never been late. This resulted in the branch receiving its annual capitation on time every year.
PPTA general secretary Michael Stevenson said Marion’s nomination reminded him of the research into the role of the branch by the late Gay Simpkin, who found that the branch was the heart of PPTA and for optimal performance required a fully functioning branch committee.
